Wednesday, August 9, 2017

Zaakira's experience: From Yendi to Sandema

When I was selected by ICS, I continually
asked myself “how will I deal with this?” When hearing I was placed in Sandema
I still continued to doubt myself. The challenge ahead seemed like something I
might not be ready for. I have left home before, but never for this length of
time - A daunting thought. Then I start
investigating if people had ever heard of this place called Sandema. Everyone
had the same story to tell; “Sandema is very nice, and incredibly peaceful”. It
wasn’t until I came to know this that my doubtful thoughts disappeared. Then I
advised myself not to do the investigating anymore, I will get to know more for
myself when I reach there. I had a new wave of confidence and I became to feel
excited. The day we started our journey, everything seemed very tense until
reaching Sandema. Our host mother welcomed us respectfully, and took our bags
inside the house for us. She was so warm and welcoming, and I soon realized the
benefits of this experience. It wasn’t long until I started to learn a lot
about other people’s culture, thanks to the help of my new host family and my
UK counter-part Megan.

My host mother Madam Diana, a friendly stranger, my UKV sister Megan and I attending a teachers vacation party in the community.

It is never an easy thing to leave your home town
and go to another place whilst staying with people you don’t know and have
never met before. It is really fortunate that my host family are like my real
family, my host parents are like my own parents. Because of this, I never feel
down or uncomfortable at my host home. I am always happy and tend to feel like I
am at my real home. In fact, we communicate, solve any minor problems together
and do a lot of things just as a normal family would. I feel so blessed with
the host family I have been given.

I am a Muslim, and as a Muslim there are
some things we don’t eat. The host mother knows what is good for me to eat, as
well as what I cannot. I cannot eat all of the meat that you may find others
here in Sandema eating. For example, I cannot eat pig (pork), dog, or cat. But
this has never been an issue I needed to raise. I am not the first Muslim she
has hosted, and I probably won’t be the last. The food is very delicious. My favorite
food is rice balls with groundnut soup. I also really enjoy rice with vegetable
stew. In my own house the food is different. Cooking techniques vary a lot and
so, even for an in country volunteer like myself, dinner time can be a novel
experience. All in all, I am incredibly happy with my placement. It feels like
home sweet home, with the exception of my parents and siblings, whom I miss
dearly.

Frankly speaking, it is a good idea that
ICS is here for young people, like myself. It is really helping us to build our
confidence. Even though we are mixed with university graduates, and some of us
are only senior high school graduates, we are given the same opportunities and
experiences, and treated as equals. The benefit of this is that my skills are
developing every day and I am constantly learning so much from the people around me. Looking
to the future, I hope to get another chance after this one to build my
confidence even more. The more you put into your ICS experience, the more you
learn, and therefore I strive to be a team leader one day.

Written by Tungteeya Zaakira Abdulai, ICV on the L.I.F.E Project, Sandema